For the Healing of the Nations

The proceedings of our 2014 Convivium Irenicum were published in November 2014 as, For the Healing of the Nations: Essays on Creation, Redemption, and Neo-Calvinism. The volume contains some excellent and even ground-breaking contributions to issues as diverse as the relation of Christianity and pagan culture in antiquity (E.J. Hutchinson), John Calvin’s two-kingdoms theology (Matthew Tuininga), and contemporary Reformed debates over presuppositionalism (Laurence O’Donnell) and the two kingdoms (Benjamin Miller). The volume is headlined by two fine essays on Abraham Kuyper’s politics from Prof. James Bratt, perhaps the leading expert on the subject currently writing in English.

Anyone interested in contemporary debates over the relationship of philosophy to theology, of the church to the saeculum, or of the kingdom of Christ to the visible church, will want to peruse the essays in this volume, ably introduced by our Vice-President, Peter Escalante.

Here are some endorsements we’ve received so far from leading scholars:

“For the Healing of the Nations contains excellent scholarship and persuasive reasoning on issues confronting the Christian community. I’m particularly pleased that the authors seek to avoid encouraging factionalism. I hope that this volume attracts many readers and sound practical applications in church and society, for the glory of Jesus throughout the world.” —Prof. John M. Frame, J. D. Trimble Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando

“The initial publishing foray of The Davenant Institute is a great one. . . . The published versions of the conference papers are uniformly excellent. Each demonstrates a deep scholarly familiarity with its subject matter and an even deeper concern to address topics relevant to a wide sweep of neo-Calvinist thought in America. While every reader will not be equally interested in each essay, collectively the essays are important to anyone who takes seriously the effects of thinkers such as Dutchmen Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck as well as Americans who followed in their tradition including Cornelius Van Til and Rousas Rushdoony.”—Prof. C. Scott Pryor, Professor of Law at Regent University

“Abraham Kuyper’s neo-Calvinism, with its communitarian and pluralist vision for social existence, served as a clarion call to cultural and political involvement by conservative Christians in twentieth century Europe and America. These essays demonstrate both the complexity and the continued vitality of this tradition as Christians today wrestle with the possibilities and limits of social transformation.” —William B. Evans, Younts Prof. of Bible and Religion, Erskine College

Here is the full Table of Contents:

IntroductionPeter Escalante

vii

1

Abraham Kuyper: A Compact IntroductionDr. James D. Bratt

1

2

Sphere Sovereignty among Abraham Kuyper’s Other Political TheoriesDr. James D. Bratt

21

3

And Zeus Shall Have No Dominion, or, How, When, Where, and Why to “Plunder the Egyptians”: The Case of JeromeDr. E. J. Hutchinson

49

4

“The Kingdom of Christ is Spiritual”: John Calvin’s Concept of the Restoration of the WorldDr. Matthew J. Tuininga

81

5

Participating in Political Providence: The Theological Foundations of Resistance in CalvinAndrew Fulford

The Davenant Institute

The Davenant Institute is a non-profit organization founded to support the renewal of Christian wisdom for the contemporary church. It seeks to sponsor historical scholarship at the intersection of the church and academy, build networks of friendship and collaboration within the Reformed and evangelical world, and equip the saints with time-tested resources for faithful public witness.